Amphibian



` July' 23,v 1946.

J. lM. HAIT AMPHIBIAN Filed Feb. l5, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l J. M. HAlT July 23, 1946'.

AMPHIBIAN Filed Feb. '15, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J'. M. HAIT AMPHIBIAN July 23, 194s.

Filed eb. 15, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l July 23', 1946.y v J. M. HAITy 2,404,492

' I AMPHIBIAN 4 Filed Feb. 15, 194s 4 shms-shewzv UNITEDA STATE Patented July 23,;1946 f- AMPHIBIAN f James M. Hait, San Gabriel, Calif., assignor to Food Machinery Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a Acorporation of Delaware Application February 15, 1943, Serial No. 475,935 Y 7 Claims. (01.4115-1) This invention relates to amphibians, and has *I particular utility in cargo-carrying amphibians employed in amphibious naval warfare.

Amphibians provided for this purpose have track-laying belts mounted on opposite sides thereof, and must be relatively short to permit them to turn readily by differential driving of these belts. The cargo-carrying compartment in ,the ship must therefore be fairly deep with its licor well below the water level, to accommodate the load they are designed to carry. Access to the cargo compartment in the loading or unloading of cargo, is had by lifting the cargo over the topside, and this constitutes a serious drawback where heavy pieces of cargo are carried, as it requires a large force of men or special equipment to accomplish the loading or unloading of the ship.

Another serious handicap inherent in this design is found in the hazards to which soldiers carried by the amphibian are subjected when they have to climb over the topside in the face of enemy fire, either to enter or leave the amphibian. It is an object i my invention to provide an amphibian onto which cargo may be loaded and from which it may be unloaded Without passing over the topside of the ship.

Contrary to amphibians, the common design of landing boats is to make these relatively long and shallow, with their deck disposed above the water level, and provide an end door which may be lowered onto the beach to serve` as a ramp over which menV and-cargo, including wheeled vehicles, may be transferred from the deck onto the beach, or vice versa. However, amphibian designers have heretofore been bound by certain prejudices which prevented the conception of an amphibian equipped with any such door. z

For an amphibian to be Well balanced in the water, either when loaded or light, it is necessary that the heavier elements of the equipment, such as the engine, transmission, control cabin, and fuel tanks be distributed about the ship in balancing relation with the center of buoyancy. Itr has become accepted as an unavoidable necessity, therefore, to occupy and block each end of the ship with one or more of theseheavier equipment items. As the track-laying mechanisms are mounted on the side walls of the ship, no Way has been apparent of providing a door in a hull wall of the amphibian for introducing cargo into o r unloading it from the cargo compartment of the ship.

yIt is a further object of my invention to provide an amphibian in whichthe heavier items of 2 equipment areso disposed as to give the am'- phibian good balance .in the water when traveling loaded or light, and at the same timer leave oneend of the amphibian free for the installation of a door therein. n

The utility of cargo-carrying amphibians in amphibious warfare is limited by the extent to which they are seaworthy in heavy seas and able to pass through a high surf.

It is an object of my invention to provide an amphibian which has a high degree of seaworthiness.

Amphibians in actual use in the present war have the track-laying belts mountedthereon so that the'blades on these belts, which are relied upon to propel the craft when afloat, are lifted out of the water and cause a considerable splash which is visible for long distances Yand which tends to betray the presence of the amphibian to the enemy.

It is an object of my invention to provide an amphibian which' not only has excellent characteristics of seaworthiness, but which operates Without the track-laying belts producing any splash.

Heretofore the ratio of the cargo capacity of an amphibian to the Weight of the amphibian has been relatively low.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an amphibian which is relatively light in weight compared to its cargo-carrying capacity.

In order to carry out the objects of my invention it is necessary that the motor for driving the amphibian be mounted on or adjacent the bottom of the amphibian hull. The necessity for eliminating all excess weight in these amphibians makes aviation motors particularly suitable for the power plant. Some of the best aviation motors now available are air-cooled and because of the bilge water which inevitably collects in the space just above the bottom of any ship, such y I engines are likely to be quickly corroded and.

rendered unreliable by bilge water if mounted close to the hull bottom. .Y Y

A still further object of my invention is to provide an amphibian in which an air-cooled motor may be mounted close to the hull bottom.

taken in connection with the accompanying Adrawings, in which: 11;

Fig, 1 is a diagrammatic plan View of a preferred embodimentof the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sideelevational view of Fig. 1'.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of Fig. 1, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail diagrammatic sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional. View taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. 'Y

of my invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the

amphibian l shown therein includes a hull ,l li

havingY a central bottom plate I2, the stern portion I3 of Which'is curved, an arcuate bow plate' I4,V and side walls l5. i Spaced from the bottoml2 is a floor 20, which cooperatesu with the bottom toforma shallow power plantV compartment 2i. The bow of the amphibian li'isv providedwith a deck 25 providing windows 26 and an escape hatch 2l', this deck cooperating with a bulkhead 28 and the forwardy portion' of the floor 2G to form a control cabin 29. The rear end of the hull Il is closed by a door 35 which is attached toV the lhull by hinges 36 and is adapted to be4 closed or opened by cables 3l, which are operated Vby ratchet *Winches 38 mounted in the side walls l5. As shown in Fig. 4, the door 35'is provided with tongues im which extend Ainto grooves'tdl" provided in the adjacent edges of'the Yside walls ll when the door 35 is closed. Strips yf42 formed ofyieldable packing material, such as rubber, `are disposed in the grooves 4| and between the bottom of the door 35 and the adjacent edgeV of the hull, so as to providel a water-tight seal between the hull and the door whenY thel latter is closed. rMour'it'ed' inthe compartment 2i on thej bottom l2 isa/relatively at'opposed-cylinder engine 50, and' a differential drive-gear transmission 5l, the latter being driven by said engine through a drive shaft '52. The engine 5E! is preferably an .aircooled, aircraft type'engine, the engine illustrated `being a Continental S-cylinder engine Vwhich develops F75-horsepower; Fuelfor the engine is provided inl tanks i'whichV are disposed in the compartment 2i on oppositesides of the shaft 52.

The engine 58 is preferably covered by a housing 5.8", and has a fan unit 59 built integral therewith to suck air through tlfiehousing` 58 to cool the engine. Air is deliveredto the housing S by a conduit F55 which connects with the atmosphere through` a screened openingV 66. Air discharged Y from the' fan unit 59 passes through a conduit S'l and' out into the atmosphere through a'screened opening V68. 'The conduits 6T' and S5 preferably 'pass upwardly throughv opposite rear corners of the'control cabin-59 to theopenings 65 and E8, which are provided in the highest portion of the control cabin deck 25. Any suitable water trap'- ping means (not shown) may be provided in the lconduitstt and s1 to divertito' the bugepump (not shown) any sea water'which might' enter the openings 66 and 68, n

"Thehousing' completely encloses the engine 50 soas to protect the motor from contact 'with 'any bilge water which may accumulate in the compartment 2|. 'This' housing is Vprf-zierably madejof monel metal or some other material which is resistant to the Water.

,corrosive action Yof sea Y V door may' be"v operated The transmission 5l provides suitable gears whereby shafts 'l0 and H may be driven by the Y engine 50, at the same or different speeds and mounted an idle sprocket 16, each base having on `Vthe top thereof a pair of idle rollers 'l1 and along v the bottom thereof a series of bogie wheels-18.

Trainedabout the sprockets 'l2 and 76, the idle Vrollers Tl and thebogie wheels 'i8 on each of the 'mountin'g'bases 15 is a track-laying belt 85. Each Ioithesebelts carries grousers 86 which rest upon the land and provide support and propulsion for thearnphibian Vduring land travel, and engage the water and provide propulsion when the amphibian-is afloat. i H f It isto'be-noted that the upper nights of the track-layingl belts '85 are disposed substantially on thelevel Iof the -upper portions,N of the sprockets i2y and *i6-and are entirely submerged in the water when the amphibian is a'oat; These upper belt runs are covered-by housingstll, which serve to prevent the developmentV of aY substantial counter thrustvby these upper belt runs'which would negative the propulsive Ithrust of the grousers 83 carried by the lower runs of these belts. y

It is to be noted that by my invention I have provided an amphibian in which the heavier elements-thereof are all disposed at a relatively-low position on the craft,y these elements including the-engine' 53, transmission-'5l and-thertracklaying belts 85 with the devices for mounting these Yon the hull. This disposition produces an amphibian with a remarkably high degree-of seaworthiness, inasmuch as the center `of gravity is a maximum distance below the center'v of buoyancy. It is also tobe noted that lby disposing both'the motor -and the transmission 5I below the fioor 26, I have freed "an-end off the hull H vsowas to make possible the provisiontherein vof a door 35, which, whenin its lowermostposition, indicated by broken Vlines 92 or Fig. 3, will form a ramp greatly assisting in the loading or unloading of cargo'from the Yamphibian and rendering unnecessary the liftingrof cargoover the topside of the craft when the latteris onland.

It is also to* be noted that the amphibian of` my invention combinesY splashlesspropulsion with the advantages aforesaid, by causing the grousers 86 to operate at all times beneath the surface of the water sustaining the amphibian.l The engine 50' and transmission 5I are, ofcourse, Vcontrolled from the cabin 29by suitablecontrol devices, some of which are diagrammatioaliy shown, but `which it. is unnecessary tddisclose in detail, as these are well known in the-art.V

Although'` the door35 is shown asrcontrolle'd by Winches 38; itis to' be understood that this suitable means.

The provisi-ml of anon-corrosive housing 58' for enclosing the air-cooledjengine, contributes substantial-ly to Y making practicaljthe mounting" of this motor in what isordinarily considered dead bilge `space inj'a ship'. i. This' housingfnotonly protects the enginen from the bilge water; :main-f taining it in good running condition, butconducts air :about the cylinders ofthe: .engine l,which g keeps these from overheating.

by power" or any other While the control cabin 29 is preferably pro--A vided in one end of the amphibian H) a'modiiied form of amphibian 95 is shown in Fig. 6 in which the entire interior of the amphibian is left free for the carrying of cargo and a control cabin 96 is mounted over one of the track-laying belts 91 in one of the -side Walls 98 of the hull 99.

What I claim is:

1. In an amphibian, the combination of a hull having a bottom and side walls; two track-laying belts; means for mounting said belts on said side walls of said hull, said belts being equipped with means for p-ropelling said amphibian when afloat,

and for supporting and propelling the same when traveling on land, and at a height to give adequate clearance for said bottom to pass over obstacles encountered in land travel; means for closing opposite ends of said hull; a floor cooper# ating with said side walls and said hull end closing means to provide a cargo compartment in said amphibian, said floor being spaced from said hull bottom to form a shallow power plant compartment between said bottom and said floor; a relatively flat internal combustion engine mounted in said power plant compartment; a transmission disposed in said power plant compartment; means for connecting said engine to said transmission, and means for connecting said transmission to said track-laying belts.

2. An amphibian comprising: a hull having a bottom, side walls and means for closing opposite ends of the hull; a floor spaced from said bottom to provide a shallow power plant compartment; a relatively flat engine disposed in said compartment; a differential speed drive transmission disposed in said compartment on the opposite side of the center of buoyancy of said hull from said engine; means for transmitting power from said engine to said transmission; shafts connecting with said transmission and extending laterally through said hull; drive sprockets on said shafts; a pair of track-laying belts trained about said sprockets and means cooperating with said drive sprockets for mounting said track-laying belts on Said hull so that said amphibian is supported on the lower runs of said belts at a height to giveV adequate clearance for said bottom to pass over obstacles encountered in land travel.

3. An amphibian comprising: a hull having a bottom, side walls and means for closing opposite ends of the hull; a floor spaced from said bottom to provide a shallow power plant compartment; a relatively fiat engine disposed in said compartment; a differential speed drive transmission disposed in said compartment, said engine and transmission being disposed about the center of buoyancy to counterbalance each other; means for transmitting power from said engine to said transmission; shafts connecting with said transmission and extending laterally through said hull; drive sprockets on said shafts; a pair of track-laying belts trained about said sprockets; means cooperating with said drive sprockets for mounting said track-laying belts on said hull so that said amphibian is supported on the lower runs of said belts at a height to give adequate clearance for said bottom to pass over obstacles encountered in land travel, and to entirely subn merge said belts beneath the surface of the water whenever said amphibian is afloat; and means for housing over the upper runs oi said belts to substantially prevent the development of a counter propulsive thrust by said upper runs.

4. A combination as in claim 1, in which a door is provided in one end of said hull and hinged at its lower edge substantially on the level of said floor; means for opening and closing said door, said door when open forming a ramp for loading and unloading said amphibian; and means forming a water-tight seal between said door and said hull when said door is closed.

5. A combination as in claim l, in which a control cabin is provided at one end of said hull and a door provided in the opposite end of said hull; means for opening said door so that the latter will form a ramp to assist in loading or unloading said amphibian, and for closing said door;4means for integrating said door with the balance of said hull when saiddoor is closed; and means for forming a water-tight seal between said door and said hull when said door is closed.

6. An amphibian comprising: ahull having a bottom and side walls, and means closing the ends of said hull; two track-laying belts; an en` gine mounted on said bottom; a differential speed drive transmission mounted on said bottom and connected to said engine; said engine and transmission being disposed about the center of buoyancy in balancing relation therewith; `drive sprockets disposed outside said hull on substantially the same level` as said engine and transmission and connected to opposite sides of said transmission; two track-laying belts trained about said drive sprockets; means cooperating with said drive sprockets for mounting said belts on said side walls of said hull, said belts beingV equipped with means for propelling said amphibian when afloat and for supporting and propelling the same when traveling on land, and at a height to give adequate yclearance to permit said bottom to pass over obstacles encountered in land travel; a floor covering said engine and' transmission; and a control cabin provided in one of said side walls and overlying one of said belts.

7. A combination as in claim 6, in which a door for closing said door or opening the same rso that the latter forms a ramp to assist in loading or unloading said amphibian.

JAMES M. HAIT. 

